Congressman Charlie Dent's Energy Plan

Lehigh Valley Congressman Charlie Dent, seeking re-election, outlines his G.R.O.W. plan to deal with rising energy costs at his campaign website. Campaign manager Shawn Millan describes this plan, and makes a few comparisons to opponent Sam Bennett.

Charlie's G.R.O.W. Plan

Go forward with developing existing energy resources on American soil and off our coasts in the most environmentally sound manner possible.

Research new technologies that will allow us to cleanly make use of America’s vast coal resources and that will spur the development of alternative and renewable energy resources like wind, solar, geothermal, as well as exciting technologies like plug-in hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. And, we must resume the use of nuclear energy (a source of power that leaves absolutely no carbon footprint).

Oppose punitive legislation promoted by extreme environmental interest groups that hurt American workers and domestic industries for the benefit of countries like China and Venezuela. Our workers shouldn’t have to accept losing good, high-paying jobs because of short-sighted energy policies.

Work towards greater conservation by increasing the energy efficiency of our home appliances and the gas mileage of our vehicles with the ultimate goal of lessening our dependence on energy from trouble spots around the World.

Political Notes – Charlie Dent on Energy vs. Siobhan “Sam” Bennett

Important: Please note that Charlie is not just jumping on to the drilling and exploration wagon now because of the public’s rightful outcry regarding fuel costs.

Charlie voted for exploration in ANWR back in 2005, and predictably heard it from environmental groups. If Congress had voted, as Charlie voted back when he was first elected, to open up a miniscule area of ANWR for exploration and production, we would already be seeing significant production from those fields today, and they would have been in full production (approximately one million barrels a day) by next year.

What Will Sam Say?

“Uh-oh! It looks like Charlie Dent doesn’t want us to break our reliance on fossil fuels. I told you he was evil!”

Wrong. And, those of you who cover Charlie know that statement is wrong. Charlie has voted for higher CAFE standards and for higher efficiency for our appliances. He has supported tax incentives to make alternative energy more affordable to the public. He has consistently championed the development of hydrogen fuel cell technology both for vehicles and for industrial plants and even co-founded the House’s Bipartisan Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Caucus.

However, he doesn’t believe that conservation should equal stagnation when it comes to the effects of new energy sources on the economy. Does he want to move towards a greater use of renewable and alternative energy sources? Absolutely, and his voting record proves it. Does he reject fossil fuel use or clean coal technology out of hand without taking into account what that kind of policy would have on you, your family and our economy? No. To do so would be short-sighted policy-making and pandering.

What Else Will Sam Say?

“Charlie doesn’t care about the potential for ecological damage.”

Look, Sam calls for an "Apollo Project" approach towards energy. She says she wants to reduce American petroleum usage by 20 percent in 12 years. The alternative energy sources she indicates we should be developing currently account for, at best, five percent of America’s total energy usage. So, Sam believes that in 12 years, through scientific and industrial progress we can quadruple the country’s usage of those energy sources. In other words, we can develop the scientific know-how and industrial techniques necessary to completely reshape not only what we get energy from but also find ways to supply or transmit it to the entire country – but she doesn’t think we have the technological ability to safely drill on 2,000 acres in the Arctic.

But, Sam Didn’t Completely Say “No” to Offshore or ANWR Production, Did She?

"I'm against oil drilling in environmentally sensitive areas. We should instead be readying ourselves for alternative energy."

That was from a comprehensive interview she gave to Bernie O’Hare at his Lehigh Valley Ramblings Blog. If she says anything else, she will have flipped-flopped.

Also, I know it is just word choice, but “readying” sounds a little too apocalyptic to me when it comes to talking about alternative energy sources, along the lines of “because PPL has been mandated to get 20% of the energy they generate from alternatives, you should be ready for the fact that your elderly parents won’t be able to run their air conditioner in the summer.”

Those DCCC Ads

By now you have probably heard this, but the provisions that the DCCC criticizes Charlie for in those radio ads are the same ones that Barak Obama supported when he voted for the 2005 energy bill.

Yes. That’s true. I couldn’t make it up.

“Seven Dollar a Gallon Sam”

Our campaign will be educating tens of thousands of voters over the next week about Bennett’s running on empty energy plan. It was widely reported that Goldman Sachs financial analysts have indicated that gasoline could go as high as $7 a gallon by the end of the year. We’re going to let voters know that Sam Bennett has no workable plan to meet our energy needs. We’re going to be introducing them to “Seven Dollar a Gallon Sam” Bennett – the candidate who “just doesn’t get it” on gasoline and oil prices.

In an initial phone canvas on this issue, we made contact with 1195 likely voters across the 15th District and asked them what they thought about Sam Bennett saying “No” to oil exploration and drilling offshore or in the Arctic. 1124 indicated that they thought she was wrong.